MARKETS & PRODUCTS

ASMI is a leading player in the market for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The semiconductor capital equipment market is composed of three major market segments: wafer processing equipment, assembly and packaging equipment, and test equipment. We operate in the semiconductor wafer processing equipment market.

MARKETS

The semiconductor industry was driven in 2015 by a US$2.0 trillion global electronics industry (VLSI Research Chip Insider, March 1, 2016) that required approximately US$284 billion in semiconductors. The semiconductor industry in turn supported the approximately US$49.3 billion semiconductor capital equipment industry, which supplies the needed production systems and services. Within the capital equipment segment, we serve the wafer processing equipment segment, which is worth approximately US$32.2 billion annually. Demand for semiconductor capital equipment is driven both by growth in the market for semiconductor devices and also by new technology needed to realize the next generation of devices. The semiconductor industry declined by about -1.3% in 2015, driving the equipment business down less than 1%. The equipment segment in 2015 was driven mostly by capacity expansion in memory fabs and new technology generation investments in Logic and Foundry fabs.

ANALOG DEVICES

We also supply equipment to leading manufacturers of analog semiconductor devices, which are important for enabling the increasing semiconductor content used in most products worldwide.

LOGIC, FOUNDRY & MEMORY MARKETS

Our semiconductor wafer processing business supplies equipment to the leading semiconductor manufacturers in the Logic, Foundry and Memory markets, primarily for the deposition of thin films.

The Logic market is made up of manufacturers who create chips that are used to process data. Known as the central processing unit (CPU), this microprocessor is the 'brains' of a computer system, and can be found in smartphones, laptops and computers.

The Foundry market consists of businesses that operate semiconductor fabrication plants to manufacture the designs of other semiconductor companies.

The memory market covers manufacturers who make chips that store information either temporarily or permanently, such as Random Access Memory (RAM) and NAND.

PRODUCTS

MARKET COVERAGE

The semiconductor capital equipment market is composed of three major market segments: wafer processing equipment, assembly and packaging equipment, and test equipment. We are active in the wafer processing segment. Within wafer processing equipment, the major segments are Lithography, CMP, Ion Implant, Deposition, Etch & Clean, and Process Diagnostics. The principal market segment in which we participate is Deposition and Related Tools. According to VLSI, the Deposition segment was worth approximately US$8.3 billion in 2015.

ASMI PRODUCTS

Our products come from a number of product platforms, with each platform designed to host and enable specified process technologies. The products in each product platform are linked through common technology elements of the platform – for example, a common in-system software framework, common critical components, similar logistics (batch or single wafer processing), or a similar wafer processing environment (wet or dry). The following table lists our principal product platforms, the main process technology that they enable, and the semiconductor device manufacturing solution for which the products from that platform are used.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS

Advance platform

The Advance is our vertical furnace batch-processing platform. Products built on this product platform are used for diffusion, oxidation, LPCVD and ALD. The product platform is used in many manufacturing steps, from the production of silicon wafers to the final anneal in interconnect.

A412 batch vertical furnace

The A412 is a 300mm vertical furnace system featuring two reactors above a rotating carousel, with a dual-boat configuration for high productivity. The tool supports a wide range of process applications with variable load sizes from 25 wafers for shortest cycle time requirements, up to 150 wafers for lowest cost requirements in a single run.

A400 batch vertical furnace

The A400 system is for 150mm and 200mm wafers. It is available with two batch tube reactors and supports applications similar to the A412 tool.

XP platform

The XP is our high-productivity common 300mm single wafer platform that can be configured with up to four process modules. The XP platform enables high-volume multi-chamber parallel processing or integration of sequential process steps on one platform.

The XP common platform benefits our customers through reduced operating costs since multiple ASMI products use many of the same parts and consumables, and a common control architecture improves ease of use.

Pulsar XP ALD system

Pulsar XP is a 300mm ALD tool designed for depositing extremely thin high-k dielectric materials required for advanced transistor gates and other applications. Pulsar is the benchmark ALD high-k gates tool for the industry.

EmerALD XP ALD system

EmerALD XP is a 300mm ALD tool designed for depositing metal gate layers for advanced high-k metal gate transistors and other applications.

Intrepid XP epitaxy system

Intrepid XP is a 300mm epitaxy tool designed for critical transistor strain and channel layers. Processes include silicon (Si), silicon-germanium (SiGe), and other silicon-based compounds.

XP8 platform

The XP8 platform follows the basic architectural standards of the XP, but provides even higher productivity with up to eight chambers integrated on a single wafer platform with a small footprint.

Eagle XP8 PEALD system

Eagle XP8 is a high-productivity 300mm tool for PEALD applications. The system can be configured with up to four Dual Chamber Modules (DCM), enabling eight chambers in high volume production within a very compact footprint. The system is capable of a broad range of dielectric PEALD processes including low temperature spacers for multiple patterning applications.

Dragon XP8 PECVD system

Dragon XP8 is a high-productivity 300mm tool for PECVD applications. The system can be configured with up to four Dual Chamber Modules (DCM), enabling eight chambers in high-volume production within a very compact footprint. Processes include a broad range of dielectric PECVD films for applications such as interconnect dielectrics layers, passivation layers and etch stop layers.

Epsilon

The Epsilon is our platform for single wafer epitaxy. The Epsilon product platform offers a wide range of epitaxy products and materials for many applications, ranging from high-temperature silicon used in silicon starting material manufacturing, to low temperature, selective or non-selective silicon, silicon-germanium (SiGe), silicon-carbon (SiC) used in CMOS devices and silicon germanium carbon (SiGeC) used in bipolar devices. The Epsilon 2000 is a single wafer, single reactor system for 150mm and 200mm wafers. The Epsilon 3200 is a single wafer, single reactor system for 300mm wafers.

Polygon

The Polygon is a single wafer atomic layer deposition platform. It features a six-sided central vacuum handler, capable of hosting up to four reactors. The Polygon 8200 is used for 150mm and 200mm wafers, and for magnetic head substrates. The Polygon 8300 is used for 300mm wafers. One or more Pulsar modules with ALD technology can be integrated onto the platform. Products built on this product platform are currently being used in, among others, ALD high-k gate dielectrics for high-performance Logic, metal-insulator-metal capacitors for so-called 'system on a chip' applications, and magnetic head gap fill.